I hope judging by this people havecurrently got Sky or Virgin just now. Reading Facebook comments, I don't believe Sky Sports is required.

Another good thing is Martin Brundle and David Croft look to be the commentators. Liked Coulthard though. Maybe like Jake he refused to jump.

Quote:

F1 Times.comSky will reportedly set up a dedicated Formula 1 channel, available to Freeview customers for just £10 per month, whilst Sky and Virgin Media users will enjoy the extra content for free.
The satellite broadcaster gained the rights to show all 20-races live next season - leaving the BBC with just half - which prompted thousands of complaints, including 40,000 on the governments official e-petitions website.

In response to the criticism, and as a way to lure those with tighter budgets from the BBC's reduced coverage, Sky will broadcast all three practice sessions, qualifying and the race, live, through a monthly subscription channel available through their own service, Sky TV, as well as rivals Virgin and Freeview - the latter of which is a free service but has optional content available through a subscription service.

Whilst the news will come as a relief to some, it may not be enough to appease most viewers who have enjoyed free-to-air coverage in the UK since most can remember. It is however a massive reduction compared to Sky's basic sports package which costs £50+ per month.

Martin Brundle is expected to partner David Croft on commentating duties, whilst Simon Lazenby, a former Rugby presenter, will anchor the show. Jake Humphrey, who has been the face of the BBC's coverage since 2009, reportedly turned down an offer to jump ship.

Full confirmation from Sky is expected next month, which is likely to include repeats, lower category racing and an F1 legends programme.

I'm not surprised they weren't able to lure Humphrey away, if he went with Sky he'd only have F1, but with BBC he gets F1, olympic games, and other events. It's better for his career in the long term to stick with the BBC.

As for Brundle, he seemed fairly angry with the BBC, much like most of the viewing public, he's made a few sniping comments during commentary, though he always made them funny. So i'm not too surprised if he's departing for Sky. Especially since his skills focus around F1 and not commentating in general.

I hope sky dont take croft, what about before Legard got the job in 09 there was a rumour that Brundle vetoed croft then, I cant stand the bloke, he has an over inflated opinion of himself and is ultra tetchy, I cant see Brundle who has just started being the number 1 commentator wanting another comentator alongside him, he will want a summariser.

I actually like Crofty's commentary. Not sure how it will fit with Brundle but there is some talk of Martin returning to his original role. Maybe that is his choice. Maybe he's not enjoying the anchor position as much. Who knows. As long as it's not Allen or Legard, I'm happy.

If this is true, I think I'll get the Virgin Tivo thing installed. Looks pretty good anyway.

If, and I guess it's a big if, will it be HD on Freeview? There are only 4 HD channels at present. Also, my Freeview HD box doesn't have a card slot, so I'd have to buy another. However, £10 a month doesn't seem too unreasonable if the content is there.

I can't see they will put it on Freeview. The main part of this has to be to force people to pay the basic Sky sub. I think they have miscalculated not only the feeling in the fans but also the simpl fact that at the moment, many, many, many families can in no way justify £500 a year for telly.

I see this morning Brundle has confirmed he will commentate for Sky next year and no mention of croft which is good in my book, I can see Sky getting another ex driver in the role alongside Brundle, Blundell perhaps ?

I like how BBC steered clear of choosing the live races that have question marks hanging above their head such as Bahrain... though that's a particularly boring race anyway. And i could of done without having Spain live, i know it's the start of the european leg but it's not a circuit that provides classic races... i think 1996 was the last one it provided that i considered a classic.

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